Pregnant women who eat up to nine eggs a day have babies with higher IQs, study suggests. According to the study, eggs contain high amounts of choline, which boosts infants’ memories and abilities to process information. The new research now suggests that mums-to-be who eat up to nine eggs a day have babies with higher IQs. According to the study, eggs contain high amounts of choline, which boosts infants' memories and abilities to process information.
However, nine is an unusually high number to eat in a day and they are linked to high cholesterol which can be deadly.
Recommendations advise 480mg of the nutrient a day in expectant mothers, however, the study suggests nearly double that amount is required for optimal results.
However, the research goes on to warn that many pregnant women fail to even consume the recommended choline intake, which may be due to eggs' reputation for causing raised cholesterol levels, as well as warnings against expectant mothers eating them if undercooked. On average, one egg yolk contains around 115mg of choline. Other sources include red meat, fish, poultry, legumes and nuts.
The research which was conducted by the Cornell University analyzed 26 pregnant women entering their third trimesters.
Half of the study's participants ate 480mg of choline every day until their delivery, while the remainder consumed 930mg.
Results reveal babies have significantly faster reaction times if their mothers ate 930mg of choline a day during the final stage of their pregnancy.
Lead author of the study, Marie Caudill said that in animal models using rodents, there's widespread agreement that supplementing the maternal diet with additional amounts of this single nutrient has lifelong benefits on offspring cognitive function and their study provided some evidence that a similar result is found in humans.
The findings were published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
